


Taking a look back

by ThisBirdWithoutACage



Series: Bloodlines [3]
Category: Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon)
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Ficlet Collection, Multi, Post, Pre-Gravity Falls, Pre-Over the garden wall, Pre-law of Gravity, Some of it's sad, Spoilers, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-21 10:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13738488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisBirdWithoutACage/pseuds/ThisBirdWithoutACage
Summary: Set in the Blood lines series! Please read that if you haven't or you will be lost. Just random ficlets and/or drabbles that I've set into this universe.Set in both pre-law of gravity and post.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! It's me! I know I haven't updated String theory in forever (I needed to take a break from it), but I started working on this one shot over the summer that kind of expanded into a whole list of related ficlets. Each chapter will be different, but it's all in the same universe I've created
> 
> If you haven't read Law of Gravity or String Theory, you will be lost. You don't technically have to read them if you don't want to, but I highly advise you do so you know what's going on.

It was mid-April when the bomb was dropped.

The three of them sitting at the table eating one of his favorite dishes; a traditional meatball soup from his mother’s list of Beijing recipes that she stored away in her memories. Their dining table was full tonight. Soup, sticky white rice, wontons, and spring rolls. Even earlier that day, he saw her preparing a fried sesame egg cake, something she didn’t do very often unless there was a special occasion. Except, he couldn’t think of one now.

His birthday wasn’t for another five months, and his step-father’s wasn’t until June. His mother’s birthday was last January, so it couldn’t be that either. He managed to get one meatball on a spoon, watching the two adults in front of him out of the corner of his eye. There was a smile on the corner of his mother’s lips, something shining brightly in her dark eyes as though she had something she wanted to share; something excited. The same glimmer could be seen in his step-father’s- no, he wouldn’t call him that. The same glimmer could be seen in Dave’s eyes. That bright, excited and happy glimmer that he didn’t understand.

He couldn’t think of a reason as to why the adults are happy. Not that he doesn’t want them to be happy; he certainly wouldn’t feel good if they were upset but what were they so excited about? He got an A+ on his spelling test earlier that day, something he had been very excited to show his mother once he returned home from school. She had been very pleased, sticking it to the fridge right next to last week’s one and promising to take him out to ice cream that weekend. Yet, that couldn’t be the reason.  
A possible idea ran through his mind. Could it be that...Dad called? They hadn’t heard from him since January, he never called regularly anyway but sometimes their phone conversations went okay and it left her with a relieved smile. Most of the time she only smiled when his father offered to talk with him. A rare occasion he could only recall a few times.

“Wirt,” his mother’s sudden voice broke the silence, two pairs of eyes now snapping towards him. He watched as she took Dave’s hand, her golden wedding band glittering underneath the light. “Wirt, honey, we have some good news.”

Good news? He put his spoon down, giving her his full attention as he tilted his head. Her dark eyes, the same shade as his, only grew in warmth and gave him the impression that whatever she was wanting to tell him, was indeed something good. “Yeah?” he offered, not sure know if he truly wanted to know what was so good.

“Wirt,” she started up once more, squeezing his-, no, Dave’s hand. “David and I are having a baby. You’re going to have a little brother or sister. How does that sound? Wirt?”

It was as though all he had been thrown out into space; all he could hear was silence. He watched as his mother’s face shifted into worry, and he thought he could see a small glimmer of regret in her eye. She spoke again, hand reaching out to grasp his. “Wirt? Sweetie, are you okay?”

He blurted it out before he could even have a chance to stop it, cheeks reddening. “I don’t want a new sibling,” he watched as her eyes widened, and yet, she didn’t look surprised by his reaction. For some reason he didn’t understand. It was almost as though she were...disappointed. His could feel the heat from his flushed cheeks, wanting to melt from the stares they were giving him. “I...I…”

He couldn’t think of anything else to say, other than muttering a quiet “Can I be excused?” before scooting out of his chair and running towards his room.

He flew up the stairs, unintentionally slamming the door shut in the process. Throwing himself on his bed, he curled into a ball in an attempt to ignore tightening in his throat and the burning tears in his eyes. 

He never asked for this; he never asked for anything if he were to be honest. As he lay there crying, the thought crossed his mind. No one ever asked what he wanted. His parents never asked if he wanted them to divorce. His father never asked if he was okay with him moving. The only thing he was ever asked was from his mother; if he was okay with her dating, and then marrying, Dave. Which he lied and told her it was okay, all the while wishing a giant piano would fall from the sky and fall on his now stepfather’s head. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t want his mother to be happy, but...why did things have to change? It wasn’t fair that everyone else got to be happy while he was miserable. He felt like water slowly being swirled down into the drain, with no railing to grab onto as he was further sucked in. Here he was, not even eight years old yet and already he’d been through so much. 

His hand reached over to his right wrist, cradling the tattooed appendage. It didn’t hurt, but just looking at it made him feel almost comforted. No other kid his age had one and, in a way, it was as though he were special. The one thing that set him apart from everyone else. Lots of kids had divorced parents, and a new stepparent, but how many had another sibling on the way this early? He wasn’t ready for this much change.

He was angry at his mother, and it made him feel guilty and sad. Her happiness was important, and no matter how many times he would scold himself, he still felt angry and helpless, like a little kid. Like the decorative China doll his mother had, ever smiling and passed along without a second thought. A lost leaf strewn about in the wind.

In a swift moment, a new emotion rose. A bitter emotion that left a sour, distasteful feeling in his stomach. He hated the new baby, even if it wasn’t here yet. This baby would have everything he didn’t have. Parents who were together and though he wasn’t completely sure yet, he was positive his mother and Dave wouldn’t divorce. The bay wouldn’t know what it was like to go through a divorce, to catch their mother sitting on her bed with the door slightly cracked sobbing into her hands. 

This baby would know what it was like to have a complete family; it wouldn’t be an outsider. And most importantly, it would have a dad that would love it unconditionally. That, he realized as a single tear ran down his cheek, hurt the most of all.  
~  
“What’s its name?”

“Wirt, don’t call your brother an it. And his name is Gregory.”

He looked down at the white bundle in his mother’s arms, hands wringing together in his lap and teeth biting his lip in anticipation. He sat on the hospital bed next to her, with her arm wrapped around him as they both gazed down at his new brother.

No, half-brother.

The wiggling bundle that had been forced into his arms was chubby. Much chubbier than he had been as an infant, with rounder cheeks and the smallest hint of a dimple at the right corner of his tiny lips. While he didn’t have a full head of hair, there were small wisps of dark blonde strands that fell gently on his soft, baby smooth, skin. Even his nose was different from his, more upturned and button like, similar to Dave’s. The baby looked so much like his father that he could scarcely see the similarities between himself and his new brother.

Wait, he meant half-brother.

Then, he saw the eyes. The same eyes he and his mother both shared; the ones many people commented on. Gregory had the same eyes, framed by medium length lashes that looked up at them with hazy vision.

“What do you think of Greg?” his mother asked softly, tracing the baby’s face with a gentle, loving hand. She smiled at him, the arm around his shoulder squeezing affectionately. “Isn’t he cute? You’re going to be the best big brother in the world. He’s lucky to have you.”

“He’s not my brother,” he huffed moodily, carefully handing her Greg, who was beginning to get fussy and starting to whine. He hopped off the bed, crossing his arms. He didn’t see his mother’s face, and his ears burned because he could still feel her disappointed gaze. Still, it didn’t stop the words the left his mouth. “He’s my half-brother.”  
~  
July 22, 2014

“And then, Tommy Lee jumped off the swing, arms spread out like he was an airplane and he soared across the playground! He landed on his feet, just like a super hero! Tomorrow, I’m going to try the same thing!”

“You will do no such thing, Gregory. Now, please sit down and eat your dinner.”

“Yes sir, Captain Mom!”

Even though their mother had sounded firm, there was no anger in her voice. Instead, her eyes smiled at Greg, laughing at his childish and immature antics. He rolled his eyes and inwardly scoffed, his fork shuffling the peas across his plate, so they wouldn’t get stuck in the mashed potatoes and ruin their flavor. He felt like the peas, in a sense that he would never, ever, admit out loud. They were strange, necessary for health and all that, but not truly wanted. 

Those thoughts only soured his mood further and he scowled at the peas, having no further desire to even look at them. Next to him, Greg continued talking, only louder and much more excitedly about his eventful day. The sun was starting to set outside, giving him a dull reminder that the day was just about done and starting tomorrow at eight thirty, he would have to spend a whole day looking after the hurricane that was his half-brother.

Despite the day not being hot enough to turn on the air conditioners, the whole house felt like a winter storm. Not that this was anything new; his mother and Dave always seemed to walk on ice whenever he was around. Starting when he turned thirteen only a year and a half ago. “He’s a teenager now,” he had overheard his mother tell Dave as they did the dishes one night. “It’s best we give him space and try not to push so much. It’s only going to make him resent us more.”

She wasn’t entirely wrong, though he felt slightly saddened and guilty for hearing her say that. Did he resent his mother? Yes, but that was only because she married Dave and brought his annoying, obnoxious, and childish half-brother into the world.

“Boys,” Dave spoke up, interrupting Greg’s story and taking his mother’s hand into his. Wirt narrowed his eyes suspiciously, setting his fork down as a troubled feeling rose in his chest. His mother smiled gently, looking at the two of them. Dave smiled at her. “Boys, your mother and I have something we want to tell you.”

Greg blinked innocently. “Are we getting a magic tiger?”

“What? No.”

“Darn.”

Again, he rolled his eyes and did his best to ignore the Greg induced headache that was beginning to form in the back o his skull. His mother looked over at him, lips pressed in a thin line. Oh, he knew what she was thinking, and he couldn’t stop feeling guilty. She wanted the two of them to get along, and despite Greg’s numerous efforts, he pushed the smaller boy away. He didn’t know how much Greg knew of his distaste for him; he had certainly dropped enough hints over the years.

“My name’s Greg, and this is my big brother, Wirt!”

“Half-brother, Greg.”

“Go bother mom, leave me alone.”

“Quit being such a pest.”

He could probably count off hand how many times he’d gotten in trouble for being so callous to the boy, but his mother and Dave were at their wit’s end. If he had a better relationship with his father, he would have begged his mother years ago to let him live with him. 

Alas, it was not to be. Unfortunately.

“Wirt, Greg,” his mother started again, after a moment’s pause. She looked each of them in the eyes, firmly, yet he could see excitement burning away. “Dave and I found out we’re having another baby.”

Wait. What?

“Are you serious?” he blurted out, cheeks turning pink at the three pairs of eyes that shifted towards him. “I mean, aren’t you a little too old to be having a baby?”

She frowned. “I’m thirty-eight, Wirt. That’s not too old to have a baby. I went to the doctor earlier today, and he said everything is going smoothly.”

“You mean,” a smile was beginning to tug at the corner of Greg’s lips. His eyes practically had stars in them and he jumped up in his seat. “I’m going to have a little brother?”

“Or sister,” Dave added with a smile. “We don’t know the gender yet.”

“Who cares? I’m going to be a big brother!”

He couldn’t listen to this anymore. He pushed his chair back, ignoring Greg’s conversation with Dave and the burning feel of his mother’s worried gaze. “I’m not hungry anymore,” he said quietly and got out of the dining room as quickly as he could.

This time, he intentionally slammed the door shut, flopping on his bed to wallow in self-pity.  
~  
The baby came a day before the due date.

At around midnight, his stepfather hurried his mother to the hospital, leaving him at home with an anxious Greg. The boy clutched his hand, tugging at it with an uncharacteristic worried frown. “Wirt,” he asked quietly, full of apprehension. “Is mom going to be okay? She looked like she was hurt.”

“She’ll be okay,” he squeezed the hand held in his, giving his little brother a smile. “Mom’s done this before, remember? Besides, she’s stronger than she looks. Did she ever tell you she nearly broke my dad’s wrist when she was in labor with me?”

Greg’s eyes went wide. “She did?”

“Mhm.”

It was the only thing he could think of to calm the boy down. Telling his little brother the story he’d heard so many times before. Going back to sleep wasn’t an option, so he made them some hot cocoa and curled up on the sofa, looking through old photo albums. 

He wasn’t sure when they fell asleep, only that they fell asleep on the couch and he was wakened by Dave gently shaking him. “Hey guys,” the man smiled, looking both tired and overjoyed. “You ready to go the hospital?”

Greg immediately bounced up, practically smacking Wirt in the process. “Do I have a little brother?”

“You’ll have to wait and find out.”

The two of them only grinned at the pout Greg gave, and on the way to the hospital, the boy was itching with excitement. He was disappointed that Jason Funderberker (the frog, not the person!), had to be left at home, but even that didn’t quell the spark that flared in the boy’s dark eyes.

“Make sure to keep your voice down, I don’t know if the baby’s sleeping or not,” Dave stopped them before he opened the door to their mother’s room. “We don’t want to wake them up, now do we?”

Greg shook his head. “No sir!”

Dave ruffled his hair, pushing the door open slowly and let them in. Their mother looked tired, with her hair slicked back and in a messy ponytail. There was still a tiny amount of sweat on her skin, but she looked happy. A bundle was held in her arms, and when she noticed them, her smile on grew bigger. “Wirt, Greg,” she motioned them forward, a finger placed in front of her lips. “Quiet now, come meet your new little sister.”

Greg hopped up on the bed next to her, peering down at the baby. “We have a sister?” he asked incredulously, watching the sleeping infant. “But she’s so tiny!”

“Babies start small, but she’ll grow,” their mother responded, smoothing Greg’s messy hair back. “You and Wirt were tiny too.”

Wirt stepped forward, sitting on the other end of the bed. “What’s her name?” he asked, looking at the surprisingly quiet baby. 

“Yin Wei,” she responded. “Do you want to hold her?”

Yin Wei was placed carefully in his arms, and looking down at her, he was reminded of another baby only eight years ago. Except, Yin Wei wasn’t as chubby, and her hair was the same shade of black as their mother’s. Her lips held the promise of dimples and her eyes, he noted as they fluttered open, were the same shape and color as their mothers. “She’s cute,” he smiled. “Have you noticed we all have the same eyes?”

“I have,” their mother smiled. “And I think it’s wonderful. All three of my babies are beautiful.”

Greg scoffed. “I’m not a baby!”

“You’ll always be my baby.”

He had long ago tuned out what they were saying, staring down at his new sister with an odd feeling in his chest. Unlike the last time, there were no feelings of resentment or jealousy. Only now, there were feelings of sadness, regret, and if he dared believe it, hope. There was so much he wanted to take back now, so much he wanted to apologize for. Seeing Greg, only a few months ago, dying in the snow had changed everything. He had been a selfish older brother, only thinking about how the world had wronged him and how it was somehow Greg’s fault.

This time, he vowed silently as his newborn sister’s hand wrapped around his finger, this time would be different.  
~  
He lay there, on the bed, with a pounding heart that seemed to block out the rest of the world. A pulsating pain that made his lower region throb inexplicably. It drowned out the noise the other creatures in the room were making. His vision felt hazy, the designs on the ceiling blurring together until they were all a hazy mess. 

“Wirt? Can you hear me? Wirt, say something!”

Dipper’s voice, he could hear Dipper’s alarmed voice. Yet, he sounded so far away, so distant. He knew that the young man was standing next to him, but his vision couldn’t make out his form very well. Why did he sound so worried?

“Young lover,” a voice that made his insides freeze and burn at the same time purred in his ear. A hand was placed on his shoulder, stroking meticulously. “You did well, so well.”

“She’s cute, I’ll give you that much,” oh god, there was Bill’s voice too, grating against his eardrums. How many were in the room with him? Staring at him like he was some sort of specimen? His vision could make out Bill’s form, becoming much clearer now and the golden demon was holding something in his arms. A baby, he believed. A baby with curled brown hair and the most intense blue eyes he’d ever seen. 

A thought broke through the fog in his mind. She? Who was Bill talking about? He attempted to move, only to be held down by the hand on his shoulder. “Relax, Young lover, she’ll be with you soon.”

He ignored The Beast, continuing to struggle. In the distance, he could hear a cry. The sound cut through his very being. Where was she? Why were they keeping her from him? “Wirt, calm down,” he heard Dipper speak to him firmly, yet gently. “She’ll be here in a few seconds.”

He didn’t want to wait a few seconds! He wanted his baby! Why were all these demons and people denying him what he wanted?

“Here we are,” his eyes shot towards The Beast, who was holding something in an intricately designed white blanket. His pale hands held the bundle carefully, holding it protectively close before placing it in his arms. “There you go, Young lover, here’s our daughter.”

He cradled her to his chest and at once, the cries stopped. He softly stroked the dark brown, almost black, hairs on her head. She stared up at him with dark gray eyes, solemnly. As though, somehow, she knew everything. It was like he was holding an ancient being, her gaze trapped him in a way that no child or infant ever had. A gaze that held a calmness and sense of clarity that no infant should ever hold.

Then again, she was also the hybrid creation of a demon and human.

He felt tears burn his eyes and somehow, he managed to hold them back. It was his fault, that she was here. He didn’t hate her; he could never bring himself to hate his baby. That’s all she was, a baby. A tiny, helpless baby who didn’t ask to come into this world. 

He promised he would protect her. Shield her from the evils that would breathe down her neck. Remind her that although she was part demon, she was human as well. She had the choice to chose which half she wanted to be more like.

He wanted to cry out when The Beast lifted her out of his arms, holding her again so Bill could get a better look at her. He hated the way they gazed down at her, plans already brewing in the back of their minds. The baby in Bill’s arms stared at her, and he wondered briefly if Dipper and Bill’s son had the same gaze his daughter had when he was born. 

“Historia,” The Beast said suddenly. “We’ll call her Historia.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ford reflects on major events in his life and reflects on what he has lost as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had this head canon earlier that Shermie was Stan and Ford's older sister who got pregnant out of high school. I know in canon Shermie is their grandfather, but since this is my story, we'll do what it this way :P

Ford had missed a lot over the past thirty years.

Accomplished as he was, with twelve PH.DS and given partial credit over a device that served as a gateway between worlds, none of it seemed to matter anymore. Since returning to his own dimension, he was suddenly forced to come to a gripping realization of how much he had missed.

He wasn’t a man built for regret; didn’t have time for it, but the thirty years he’d been away had given much time to privately reflect on these feelings.

He had missed out on important events before; his older sister, Shermie’s, birthdays, her marriage and subsequent divorce to that guy who drove a motorcycle (still couldn’t remember his name), and of course, his nephew, Aaron’s, later teen years.

Aaron had been a smart boy, he remembered this fondly. Not as smart as himself, but definitely one of the brightest minds in his class. He could have gone to any Ivy League school he wanted, and before he had been taken by the portal, he had mentioned to him when he visited one summer that he wanted to go to Harvard.

He would have helped the boy prepare for college; Shermie had no experience or interest in the matter, but the sight of the boy’s eyes lighting up at the thought of Harvard made him feel like a teenager again. When the boy was heading onto fifteen, he got into that fight with Stanly and woke in a strange dark dimension with no way to get home.

There was a bitter feeling that still resided in his heart. Aaron decided not to go to Harvard, instead going to a community college for computer science, a rapidly rising industry and eventually made into a grad school. Where he met the love of his life (in Mabel’s words, anyway), Michaela Marić, a young woman at the same school studying to be an ethnomusicologist. From what he’d been told, they dated their remaining two years at the school, eventually moving in together before they married. He had missed it all. The funerals of his parents, his nephew’s graduations, birthdays, his wedding, and most importantly, the birth of his grand niece and nephew.

Since returning from the multi dimension, he had met up with his nephew and niece-in-law only once. The following Christmas after Weirdmaggedon, the whole family from both sides gathered in Piedmont for a reunion. The moment he and Stanly walked through that door, he was immediately embraced by his nephew.

Honestly, he had been expecting to be yelled at; to receive at least some anger, but there was none. Aaron just smiled at him, saying he was glad that had come back and made him promise to tell him what had actually happened. As if he didn’t believe his own children’s tale about the strange apocalypse.

Meeting Michaela for the first time was interesting, and he could immediately see why people liked her. She greeted him warmly, accepted him regardless of him being away for so long. She was easy to talk to, open minded and never missing a beat when in a debate. A scholarly woman, with a love for reading and the mysteries the world had to offer. He could see a lot of Dipper in her and imagined Mabel growing up to be the same kind of woman.

He was just starting to get his family back together when all of a sudden, it was taken away from him again.

The twins had left for Piedmont once more, the two recently turned fourteen-year olds waving to them from the back of the bus window. For the next six hours, nothing was wrong. Despite missing the two teenagers’ presence, life went on as it usually did.

Until around two o’ clock when they received the phone call. The one phone call that forever altered their lives.

He watched with a set frown as Stanly broke several traffic laws, hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles had turned white. There were no stops on the six-hour drive, not a single word was spoken. He didn’t even bother reprimanding his younger twin that it was highly illegal to drive past a stop sign. No, all he could think about was the phone call.

They’d just sat down for a late lunch with Melony and Soos when the phone rang. He had thought it would be Dipper and Mabel confirming they had made it home safely and they looked forward to seeing them again soon, but instead it was an unfamiliar woman’s voice.

_“Is this Mr. Stanford Pines? This is the Piedmont county police station.”_

“Yes, this is Stanford Pines,” he answered, ignoring the questioning looks from the others. What was this about? Were the twins okay? He couldn’t stop the feeling of dread that had settled in his stomach. “May I ask what this about?”

She didn’t sound too upset when she told him the news; she must have done so dozens of times before that it made her numb to it. _“Mr. Pines, I am sorry to tell you this, but there was an accident an hour ago. Your nephew and his wife were killed upon impact. Their children, Mason and Mabel Pines, are returning to Piedmont today, right?”_

His mouth had gone dry, like someone had stuffed in full of sawdust. “Yes,” he finally managed to answer, sounding incredibly hoarse. “Are their cell-phones not working?”

_“Apparently they don’t have reception at the moment. We will be waiting at the bus stop for them. Please meet us at the Piedmont County Hospital. We’ll have someone there who will discuss custody of the twins.”_

She hung up before he could say anything else. He stood there, holding the phone with a feeling that he had just been dunked in one of Stanly’s carnival games. Stanly stared at him, raising an eyebrow. “What? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Stanly,” he couldn’t regain his voice, a feeling of absolute sadness he had not felt in a long time burrowing away in his chest. “Stanly, Aaron and Michaela are dead.”

If Stanly was feeling amused before, it faded the second he uttered those words. “What?”

“I just got off the phone with the Piedmont police. There was an accident an hour ago when they were driving home. They were killed immediately. Stanly, we have to go get the kids. They’ll be back in their town soon and we can’t leave them there.”

Stanly didn’t say any other words other than, “Soos, you’re closing up tonight.” Before grabbing his wallet and keys, storming out the front door.

He knew Stanly wasn’t angry; he knew his twin well enough to know that. He channeled his sadness by putting up an impenetrable wall of gruffness that most mistook for anger. It didn’t change during the car ride; nor when they entered the hospital.

Yet, it changed when they found two young teenagers leaning on each for support. The minute Mabel saw them, lifting her tear stained face from Dipper’s shoulder, she saw them. Stanly held his arms open, offering a rare smile he reserved only for the twins and hugged her as tight as he could when she ran into his arms. She sobbed into his chest, earning a few looks from the other hospital patrons. Those who dared to look annoyed received the death glare from him.

He wasn’t expecting Dipper to hug him, clutching him as if there were no tomorrow. As if he would disappear once more into some strange dimension. He wasn’t good at comfort; he didn’t even know what to tell him. He just…held his great-nephew tightly, allowing himself to finally let his own grief out.

The funeral was a somber affair, with many people from all over gathering. Their parents were buried next to his parents, who had moved to California after Aaron had completed his masters. Mabel’s hand never left Dipper’s, clutching it so tightly he thought they were almost glued together. They didn’t say anything; not even being able to say a few last words to the people who had gathered.

He didn’t blame them. Not one bit.

The next two years that followed, the twins had adjusted to their parents’ death as well as they could. Moving to Gravity Falls hadn’t been too hard for them. They had friends; knew everyone in town, so they were never lonely.

Well, never too lonely. There were times where Dipper would disappear off into the forest with his journal in hand, saying he needed to be alone. Mabel would hide herself up in her room, keeping herself busy with craft projects or knitting sweater after sweater. He didn’t know if that was a healthy way to cope, but it seemed to work fine. When he felt he needed to be alone, he would go downstairs to his lab for hours on end.

The summer before the twins turned sixteen, it felt like the past had come to haunt him. An old colleague of his, a man named Liang Gang He, had passed away back in 1998. His daughter, a woman whom he had not seen for a long time had returned to Gravity Falls. Bringing her husband, two sons, four-month-old daughter, and the family legacy that confused even him.

~

He had never seen Mabel this devastated; this broken. Not since the day her parents died.

He and Stanley stood outside her room, the door open, but neither stepping inside. Curled up on her bed, Waddles snoring beside her softly, he could hear her sniffles. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to get up.

Losing her parents was one thing, but losing her twin was something entirely different. Something he could understand. Thirty years in the multiverse, facing down many dangers, making enemies and friends alike. But at the end of the day, all he wanted to do was go home. He had figured that Stanley wouldn’t be able to figure out how to operate the portal and hoped he wouldn’t.

Yet, on those nights he couldn’t sleep, too homesick to even try, he thought of his twin. Thought of their fight and hoped his younger twin could forgive him and let him go.

Now, all that seemed so long ago as he watched his great-niece clutch her pet pig tightly. She and Dipper had been through so much; depended on each other for support. Then Bill, the bastard, had taken her security away.

He didn’t know why Bill wanted Dipper; he’d never expressed too much interest before. So why now? What was the end game?

As he watched Mabel sit up slowly in her bed, eyes hollow as they met his, she frowned. “Have you found him yet?”

“No, Sweetie,” Stanley sighed, fists tightening by his side. “We haven’t found that bastard yet.”

He knew she had changed, no one went through so many trials without being unscathed. But, he never imagined the words that followed.

“Bill’s mine,” her voice was absolute, cutting through the silence like a knife. She stood up, Waddles following her as she picked up the grappling hook set on her desk. “I’ll kill the bastard with my own two hands.”

He was met with the sudden realization that sweet, always smiling Mabel, was gone. Dipper wasn’t the only thing they had lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what to do!

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think! Hit you in the feels, didn't I? If you have any suggestions or prompts, please let me know!


End file.
